Kenya will plant 7.6 billion tree seedlings in a bid to attain a 10 percent forest cover as required by international standards by year 2030.

Speaking at Kangema General Kago Stadium, Environment Minister John Michuki said the ministry would use 35,000 primary and secondary school students to plant tree seedlings towards realization of fostering a clean environment before the year 2030.

He added that each school will be provided with a capacity of 10, 000 liters water tank and gutters for harvesting rain water that will be used to maintain the tree seedlings.

He added that each school will be required to produce 5, 000 tree seedlings annually that would be distributed to farmers to increase the forest cover in the country.

Michuki said his ministry had established a task force to access the adverse impact of eucalyptus tree species and make recommendations on how to tackle the menace caused by the trees which consume a lot of water from the soil, hence drying up of rivers and streams.

The Minister said Kenya and Italy will continue to chair the International Environmental Governance Consultative Forum for environment ministers that have been charged with the responsibilities of offering solutions on environmental degradation in the world.

He said the consultative forum had been established after leaders in the world found out that environmental conservation was wanting.

The minister said that the international governance was constituted after world leaders realized that United Nations environmental Programmes' efforts of conserving the environment had not produced the desired results.

Michuki said that so far, his ministry had managed to clear 20 percent of mounts of garbage dumped in Nairobi.

At the same time, Michuki lauded the International Criminal Court for extending the one year deadline for the Kenyan government to form a special tribunal that would prosecute perpetrators of 2007 general election violence.

He said that the extension would allow for more consultations to be conducted before the Waki Report is implemented.